BOOMSTICKHolsters

Most discomfort comes from pressure on a small area. The leather sitting too low will probably not hurt, but the clip hanging down can cause some discomfort. I usually tell people to find what works for them and break out the Dremel to remove unwanted materials.

Nice work! I like the look of the white stitching on the 1911 holster better than the monochrome look myself, but that is personal preference. Your work keeps gettin' better. Keep in mind that you may get a lot of customers who want the pistol to ride low in the pants (for whatever reason) so you may consider an alternative t-nut placement for some of them. I adjusted mine to the middle hole for this reason, along with the ability to adjust the draw angle slightly. It is all a compromise one way or another, but this seemed like the one that afforded the most options for me.

I used Duncan's for mine this time. I heard through the grape vine that Rings will have them soon, but I haven't asked Rings yet, so that could be a rumor. When you talk to him, maybe you could ask for an updated list of models? I know they have more models than they advertise.

Well, on an interesting note, I like the clips to "float" a little in an IWB holster. When you sit in a car, crouch, kneel, go prone, stand, run etc., it is more comfortable in my experience for the holster to give a little bit and adjust to your position. Some folks don't like that, and I would be happy to make a more secure clip by doubling up the screw posts, but thus far everyone I have shared my reasoning with has opted for the "floating" clips. That having been said, I don't want the clips to spin freely. I pound a three prong t-nut into the leather, then space the clip off of the leather's surface with a thick rubber washer the width of the exposed barrel. I place a star washer on top of the rubber washer and screw the clip into place with a little bit of loctite. It allows a little bit of play without letting the clip spin wherever it wants.

What exactly are you planning to build? That will have a little bit to do with what I would suggest you do or don't purchase.

Oops! I think you're right. RVM45, you're probably gonna need two different leather weights to do this right, but I will default to the folks that have more experience with cowboy rigs on that subject.

dbusarow has it right. If you order a back it will have plenty of length for what you need. Double shoulders won't be long enough. Anything else will be innapropriate for belts and holsters IMO. Personally, I would go with a double thick standard belt as opposed to a "ranger" style belt. The job of a carry belt is to make carrying the weight of a pistol more comfortable for longer periods. The ranger belts won't do this quite as well as a normal double thick belt will. In your case, you might even consider a 1 3/4" belt because it will probably look more proportionately appropriate to your build. If you can swing the cost, I suggest you order a back from Wickett and Craig; 8 oz. weight, sanded and plated (some people that work there call it "holstered"). This will work pretty well to construct a belt and for making holsters.

Twinoaks, I had not thought of that. I don't know if the rubber pads have developed a "memory", but I don't think so; I flipped them and rotated them before pressing those holsters. The wrinkling has been going on before that though, too. It was something I had not considered yet, though. The holster that wrinkled was also pressed about 45 minutes after the others, so I would think that the press had time to recover. As to when the wrinkles occur, they typically show up right after the holster is pressed, but occasionally they surface while the holster is drying. I haven't had them wrinkle after merely wetting the holsters like Monica has, but if the textures looks the same it makes me wonder if it isn't a moisture situation. I appreciate your comments; I never would have thought of that. I need to get some extra pads and see if that makes a difference, and I will pay closer attention to how much time in the water they take.

That's the great thing about IWB holsters; nobody's gonna see 'um!!

Other than the press pads, I can only imagine that the difference in moisture content or perhaps the drying temperature had some affect on the leather (but as far as I can control them, they are the same - time in water, time in the press, drying temp and time, etc.). The funny thing is, structurally speaking, the holster is fantastic. It's just the way it looks that bugs me. I guess I'll keep running some experiments and let you guys know if I figure anything out. If anyone has any thoughts on the matter then by all means, jump in on the conversation!

Nice work. I especially like how the edge below the bezel looks rolled in.

I only use backs and shoulders. The pieces were adjacent to each other as I cut them out (in fact the traced patterns were practically touching each other they were so close.

Every once in a while, I will make a batch of holsters and one of them will turn out to have a wrinkled texture in comparison with the others. They are cut from the same piece of leather. They go through the same process. As far as I can tell, there is the same amount of moisture, heat, and pressure in the press applied to all of them - and one of them invariably will have an annoying texture to it! Does anyone else run into this issue? I am considering running an extra inch of rubber in my press to see if that is a viable solution. I don't want to go back to hand pressing all of them because it takes so much longer and it will eventually give me arthritis. I just want the leather to look cleaner. I know it is fully functional, but I still want to make as clean of a holster as I am able. So if you have any thoughts or suggestions, or if the same thing has happened to you, please let me know. This is driving me nuts! The offending culprit:

I like the stability that the extra length provides as well, but I also use a slot punch below where the muzzle will be so it is easier to clean and clear lint, dirt, etc.. 'Just something you might try if you think it will benefit you. I dip the separate pieces before construction and then airbrush for a more even finish when doing browns, burgundy or saddle tan. It helps me with consistency on the lighter colors.

The springs in question don't look like they will work, IMO. It looks like they are curved down the entire length so that they dynamically flex and hold open, or snap shut. I imagine it would be fairly difficult to press them into service in this particular case.

Fantastic work, Brinyar! The next time you order from Springfield Leather, buy a bottle of "Spice" and see if you don't like it better than the light brown.

You holsters look better every time you post.

Nice looking color, and excellent design work. Good job!

If you aren't using some kind of moisture preventative sealant you are asking for trouble no matter what you do. A proper application of acrylic finish (I use Angelus 600 - first "painted" on to maximum absorption with a foam brush and then airbrushed to achieve a matte finish - I know of some makers that even dip their holsters) will act as an excellent moisture preventative in any case without the possibility of breaking down the leather's rigidity prematurely. In fact, it will promote its stiffness. It all depends on what you are trying to do. In my experience, you don't want a holster to flex once it's broken in. You want it to remain rigid enough to both keep it's shape while the pistol is withdrawn so it is easier to reholster, and to almost "snap" back into shape once the pistol is reinserted. I know it seems like I go against the conventional wisdom sometimes, but it is not for the sake of being different. I am and will probably always remain a shooter first and a craftsman second. I am not picking on traditional leather craftsmen or saddle makers (my Dad is one of them and he is the one who got me started). I just have a different set of priorities for my carry equipment. I don't want to force anybody to do things my way. This sight is about helping each other and I am trying to do just that. It would be much easier not to make waves. Bottom line: I have told you guys what I do and why. You may or may not agree with mme but at least you have seen my logic and you can possibly gain something from it. Just know why you are doing what you do and strive to improve. Everything else should fall in line.

Flexibility comes as a result of breaking your holster in. If you want to, you could probably apply some Bick 4 or Lexol to the "wings" of the holster (where the belt slots are located), but I wouldn't advise it for anywhere that has molding. I don't personally advocate the use of neatsfoot oil in general when it comes to building holsters that are boned into shape. In time, it will only make them too soft (for my taste). It seems like most of the companies or people that recomend using neatsfoot oil either got their start making saddles or apprenticed under somebody that did. The same needs don't apply to boned holsters that apply to belts, boots, saddles, knife sheaths, slings, or cowboy rigs. Believe me, if we were talking about any of those subjects I would deffinitely default to a saddle maker's advice; they are very talented and knowledgeable artisans (much more so than I am - I couldn't do what they do). They just usually have a different outlook and different needs in mind when it comes to what a holster should be.

I don't want to sound like a pain in the butt, but if you want the holster to be soft and pliable then use it a little while. It takes a lot of effort to make holsters stay rigid. Accomplishing a softer holster isn't too difficult at all. 'Just out of curiosity, why do you want the holster to be soft?

Here are a few thoughts on holster construction that you didn't ask about but that might help. One thing that you can do is refrain from using square edges or sharp corners whenever possible. It will improve the looks of the holster by making the lines flow together and also keep the corners from separating or rolling up. Also consider taping a dowel rod to the slide of your pistol when you shape the holster so it formes a sight channel. That keeps crud off your front sight and improves your draw stroke. There are several posts in this section about improving your hand stitching if you use the search function. Also, If you don't already own Al Stohlman's guide for hand stitching, give Kevin at Springfield Leather a call and order one. I thought the color turned out pretty well, but sometimes things look different in person than they do on the monitor. What don't you like about how they turned out? Finally, don't worry too much if you mess something up and have to start over or re-design something. It's just part of the learning process. I have always learned more from mistakes than getting lucky on the first try anyhow. BTW, welcome to the leather worker forum!

Thanks for the awfully kind words, guys. The truth is, I don't know nearly as much about holsters as some makers. I'm sure that there are pages worth of information on the subject above that I haven't even begun to consider yet. There are several things I would like to know how to do better, and it will probably take years if not a lifetime to figure some of it out. I think the most helpful thing for me has been to carry and use my own holsters as much as possible to learn how to improve their performance and design. I think about every holster maker out there started out by sewing some leather together and calling it a holster. The thing is, nobody has to stay there. Sometimes you don't know what you don't know, so you need to make every effort to figure it out. If you guys haven't done it yet, try taking some training classes somewhere using the equipment you designed yourself. If you have any friends that carry and shoot a lot, make some gear for them and get their feedback on how they would change or improve things. Heck, I think it is even a good idea to make a rig every once in a while that you push to the point of failure just to learn more about what it will take.

This is a subject that a lot of folks don't really understand (even a bunch of the pros). There are several things that should be taken into consideration when designing a holster (especially a custom rig). What purpose will the holster serve? The placement of the slots will have a lot to do with determining how the gun rides. With a concealed carry holster, if you add more space between the front slot and the pistol than from the rear slot and the pistol you will end up with a holster that hugs the butt of the grip in tight so it doesn't show through a cover garment. If you do the opposite with a range holster the grip will be more accessible allowing for easier draws and re-holstering. Keep in mind that the width of the pistol will largely affect how the spacing works as well. What kind of belt are your holsters designed to work with? If you are making a concealed carry holster, it will need to be carried on a good CCW belt so the weight of the pistol won't cause it to sag or roll and be uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. Because a CCW belt is thicker than a standard belt, the slots will have to be far enough from the pistol that there is ample room for the belt leather to flex and then conform back around to the shape of the waiste. If the slots are too close, the belt will have to bend more to thread into them, resulting in a sharper bend in the belt that may cause a lot of discomfort after a short amount of time wearing the rig. The same close dimensions with a Wal-Mart belt wouldn't be a problem since it would flex more - in fact, it would probably help some with stability (although it wouldn't vbe nearly as comfortable or stable for concealed carry as a real carry belt). Also keep in mind that the other dimmensions of a belt slot, as well as the way the holster is formed, will play a fairly large role in how a holster performs. The slots will have to be just wide enough to accommodate the customer's belt, and just tall enough to allow room to thread the belt through without leaving any excess room for additional play (so the holster can't shift or "walk" around on the belt). If the holster is formed or molded around the belt when it is constructed, the dimensions can be a little tighter than they would be otherwise, since the belt doesn't need as much room to flex (the pre-shaped slot in the holster allows the belt to thread in straighter instead of bening over the edge of the holster and back under the pistol). OK, now as if this wasn't complicated enough, how is your customer shaped? If it is for a large guy, the slots may be a little farther apart than if it is a really thin guy that is ordering it. If the slots are too close on the big guy's holster, we will have the pressure point mentioned earlier where the belt gets bent tight and pushed into a single spot. You might even have to build the thinner guy's holster so the outside is boned and the inside is flat, which allows you to reduce the over all dimensions of the holsetr so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb on his smaller frame. Now consider whether the holster is for a woman with larger hips. The angle of the belt slots will make a difference in how closely the gun rides at the grip or the muzzle. This can mean the difference between a comfortable carry and the muzzle or grip pressing in to her body to the point of discomfort.

'Looks pretty good to me. Keep working at it and you'll only get better.